Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jack Graham, here with his wife, Ginger, turned in more than 1.500 petitions from each Colorado congressional district Monday for the June 28 GOP primary. (Photo courtesy of Colorado Secretary of State’s Office)

Federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland receives applauds from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden as he is introduced as Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court during an announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2016. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais, The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s decision to nominate Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday did little to alter the politics of the high court fight — at least in Colorado — as Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner immediately reiterated his opposition to any nominee selected by Obama.

“Our next election is too soon and the stakes are too high; the American people deserve a role in this process as the next Supreme Court Justice will influence the direction of this country for years to come,” said Gardner in a statement released even before Obama had finished the Rose Garden ceremony introducing Garland, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Senate Republicans have vowed to block any nominee put forward by Obama, a move aimed at preserving the conservative leanings of the Supreme Court that existed while Scalia was still alive.

WASHINGTON — Senate hopeful Jon Keyser announced a trio of endorsements Monday — tallying support from former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, former Gov. Bill Owens and former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo.

All the nods are notable, though the most intriguing of the bunch is the thumbs-up from Tancredo, the on-again, off-again Republican who ran an insurgent race for president long before Donald Trump tried it.

Said Tancredo in a statement released by the Keyser campaign: “Jon brings an unparalleled level of national security experience to this race and I have no doubt he will secure our southern border and bring Colorado common sense to Washington, D.C.”

Tancredo did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, though it’s not surprising that he mentioned immigration in his statement — as that issue was Tancredo’s often-controversial calling card during his political career.

For Keyser, the package of endorsements could help him gain traction in an unusually large Republican primary field. By balancing the backing from Tancredo with the support of Owens and Brown — two politicians who hew closer to the establishment than Tancredo — Keyser wants to make the case he’s the Republican with the best chance to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

This video was sent out to the press the day after the state Democratic dinner in Denver on Feb. 13. The America Rising PAC then sent a second clip when it wasn’t clear in this one if Bennet heard the opposition tracker’s question. In the next clip, the tracker asked him again as Bennet walked down the street. Bennet’s campaign didn’t reply to an e-mail asking if he heard the question.

Democrats on Thursday were calling out Republicans for saying they will support the GOP nominee, which looks increasingly like Donald Trump and all his baggage.

Funny thing is, Republicans have been calling on incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet for weeks to say whether he’ll support Bernie Sanders and the Democratic socialist’s agenda. Sanders still trails Hillary Clinton nationally, but he waxed her in Tuesday night’s Colorado caucus.

Bennet and almost all his potential opponents have the same answer: They’ll support their party and its nominee.

“I’m not stepping into it just to make a little noise, I’m stepping in it on a serious note,” he said in an interview.

Like other challengers, first-time candidate Natividad is casting himself as an outsider, despite spending decades working in politics and public policy with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and various Republican campaigns. Also like the other candidates, he’s emphasizing his background as a business owner and his focus on cutting government spending and lowering the national debt. Given the similarities, it’s unclear how he will differentiate himself ahead of the June primary.

WASHINGTON — The White House confirmed Thursday that President Barack Obama will sign into law a broad trade bill that includes a provision — co-authored by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. — that bolsters the ability of the U.S. to fight currency manipulation by countries such as China.

The underlying measure passed the Senate 75-20 earlier in the day, and it includes a raft of similar measures intended to help U.S. companies compete on a global stage, such as the creation of a new “early warning system” designed to detect “surges from unfair trade,” according to a summary of the bill.

The Bennet piece of the legislation, which was co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Tom Carper, D-Del., requires U.S. officials to first negotiate with countries found to be artificially affecting the value of their currency, often by buying or selling foreign currency to affect the global exchange rate. If that doesn’t work, the bill outlines a series of punitive steps — such as blocking the offending country from future trade agreements.

“Currency manipulators illegally make overseas goods cheaper and exports from Colorado less attractive on the global markets,” said Bennet in a statement. “Our measure puts in place strong tools that allows the United States to fight back.”

In a statement, the White House gave credit to how the bill provided “unprecedented new tools to address unfair currency practices.”

WASHINGTON — Congress is filled with traditions. One of the most cherished — if not occasionally ridiculed — is the ritual of lawmakers making bets whenever their team makes the Big Game.

Sports-crazy Colorado is no exception, and the last few days have been filled with the announcements of various wagers between Broncos fans and supporters of that other team from the South somewhere.

U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, was the first to kick off the Super Bowl madness.

He put some real meat on the line (warning: this blog post may contain bad puns) by betting U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., some “locally raised, mouth-watering” steak from Colorado against North Carolina barbecue.

But this being Congress, even a simple wager has to include a sprinkle of politics; according to Buck’s office, the steak vs. BBQ wager was made, in part, by a desire to highlight a beef industry “hurt by government overreach.”

WASHINGTON – The newest Republican to enter Colorado’s race for U.S. Senate is a new Republican himself — as businessman Jack Graham switched his voter registration to the GOP from the Democratic party just a year ago, according to election records and confirmed by his campaign manager.

The recent conversion could give ammunition to the dozen or so Republicans running against Graham, a political neophyte who entered the GOP primary last week with the announcement he would pump $1 million of his own money into his campaign account. That amount of cash, coupled with Graham’s past ties to Colorado State University athletics, suggests he could be an early contender — but it makes him a target too.

In explaining the switch, campaign manager Dick Wadhams said it’s a matter of tradition, as well as logistics.

“Jack was a Democrat by family tradition. He grew up in San Francisco,” Wadhams said. And while Graham supported Republicans “all these years,” he was too busy doing things such as running the athletics department at CSU to change it, he added.

“It shows he hasn’t been politically involved in his life,” said Wadhams, who noted former President Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat too.

The winner of the GOP primary will take on incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s campaign will report a nearly $2 million cash haul for the final three months of the year, giving him $6.7 million to start the 2016 election year.

The Democrat boasts a substantial advantage over his potential Republican challengers — which now number 10 with Peg Littleton’s entry into the race Wednesday. The question of whether a GOP challenger can raise enough money to mount a significant contest depends on the candidate and the level of outside money in the race.

Bennet’s fourth-quarter fundraising total essentially mirrors his prior reporting periods and puts him ahead of other top Senate candidates this cycle, despite a slow start a year ago.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.